“Our development team thinks beyond the given project boundaries and is constantly looking for ways of optimising our industrial machinery. Optimised control of our servo-electric drives with frequency converters that are able to recover energy is now an integral part of Schmale systems engineering. Through our systematic use of energy-efficient technologies, our machines generally require substantially less energy than our competitors’ equipment.”

Schmale: Energy-efficient industrial machinery

Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH integrates servo technology solutions into its systems. This way, machines can be operated at very high levels of energy efficiency and without hydraulics, meaning that virtually no fluid is required. When compared with hydraulically driven machines of the same type, a bending machine equipped by the company with servo actuators saves up to 72 per cent of energy and €25,000 and reduces CO2 emissions by 12 tonnes per year – and offers other benefits besides.Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH integrates servo technology solutions into its systems.

Large amounts of energy are required to shape metal. A typical hydraulic forming machine, in which a wire is bent, compressed and shaped to form a product, consumes between 30 and 60 kilowatts of power. A good opportunity to save energy. Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH, whose key focus is on the development and construction of energy-efficient bending machines, sees this too. And, as a result, the company has fully equipped a machine that produces flat steel brackets for the construction industry with servo electrical technology. A subsequent consumption analysis has attested to its exceptional level of energy efficiency.

Engine for progress:

Energy savings of up to 72 per cent

Approx. 12 tonnes of CO2 emissions reductions per machine per year

Savings of up to €25,000 per machine per year

Machines require less maintenance

Less space needed

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Fa. Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH

Wire-bending machines with energy-efficient servo actuators

72 per cent energy savings, €25,000 financial savings possible per machine per year

Compared with a rival hydraulic model, the machine fitted out by Schmale reduced energy consumption by up to 72 per cent in a production test. This equates to a saving of 21,500 kilowatt-hours and a reduction of 12 tonnes of CO2 emissions per machine per year. Alongside these lower energy costs, the manufacturing time for each bracket is also shortened. This results in financial savings of around €25,000 per machine per year.

Fewer new purchases, less maintenance, less space required

Another advantage of servo actuators is that they are suitable both for equipping new machines and for retrofitting older ones. Thanks to the servo actuators, new machinery is more compact and requires about 40 per cent less floor space. Even after their conversion, older machines don't take up any more space than they did before. Schmale also installs an energy measurement system in its equipment. This calculates the precise energy consumption per manufactured part and provides the customer with the relevant energy data needed to prepare cost analyses.

Maintenance outlays are also reduced by removing the hydraulic parts, because hydraulic fluid no longer needs to be added, deaerated, cleaned or thrown away.

Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH

Fa. Schmale Maschinenbau GmbH

“Our development team thinks beyond the given project boundaries and is constantly looking for ways of optimising our industrial machinery. Optimised control of our servo-electric drives with frequency converters that are able to recover energy is now an integral part of Schmale systems engineering. Through our systematic use of energy-efficient technologies, our machines generally require substantially less energy than our competitors’ equipment.”